The Art of Life (97 page)

               
We
stare at each other for a minute.
 
“So,
you are getting ready for your date, huh?”

               
“Yeah,”
I reply quietly.
 
“How was your day?”

               
“Long,
I had a lot of small projects to do.
 
I
love my job and all, but even it can be taxing sometimes.
 
Where are you guys going tonight?”

               
With
a shrug, I retort, “I have no idea.”

               
“No
kissing on a first date,” Jeremy states.

               
“Jeremy!
 
Don’t start.
 
If we want to kiss each other, we will kiss each other.
 
I don’t plan on jumping in the back seat with
him.”

               
Jeremy
points his finger at me.
 
“I will lock
you up if that happens.”

               
“Shut
up,” I laugh.
 
“You will not!”

               
He
grins back.
 
“You will just have to wait
and see.”

               
“There
is nothing to see.
 
I am not going to be
doing anything with Eric.
 
Don’t worry
your pretty little head.
 
I will be just
as innocent when I come home, as when I leave.”

               
“I
hope so, and I am not saying that as a threat.
 
I mean it.
 
I hope you keep your
sense about you.
 
It can be difficult
when you start to grow attached to someone, not to jump them at every moment
you have.”

               
I
turn my head and look at him.
 
“When did
you have that problem, or are you talking about Kaitlin?”

               
Suddenly,
Jeremy stands up straighter and looks at the floor.
 
“I have urges just like the next guy.
 
Just be careful okay.”
 
With that he turns and walks away.

               
My
jaw has to be on the floor.
 
What in the
WORLD was that about?
 
Who was he
attached to?
 
Jeremy is hiding something
from me, but…..why?
 
I thought we were
passed that.
 
I turn and stare down at
the counter.
 
Do I ask?
 
Do I say something?
 
I thought we were honest about everything.
 
Well then, I guess that means I don’t have to
tell HIM everything.
 
I pick up the blow
dryer and finish getting ready.

               
Looking
in the mirror, I take a deep breath.
 
I
picked out the outfit myself.
 
I have on
a sweater dress and leggings.
 
My hair is
straight, plus I have a little bit of make-up on.
 
How do I look?
 
“Jeremy?” I yell.

               
A
few seconds later, he comes up to my door.
 
“Yes?”

               
“How
do I look?
 
Do I look alright?
 
Should I change?”

               
“How
about you calm down?
 
You look great, but
I always think you look great,” Jeremy declares with a smile.

               
Whining,
I say, “That doesn’t help me!
 
I need to
know if Eric will think I look nice.”

               
“If
he has any sense about him he will.
 
You
need to relax, Isabelle.
 
You are
supposed to be doing this because you are excited.”

               
“I
am,” I say, trying to convince myself.
 
“I am excited, just really nervous.”

               
A
knock on the door startles me.
 
Jeremy
raises his eyebrow.
 
“You want me to get
it?”

               
“No,”
I gasp.
 
“I don’t know.
 
Yes?
 
What should I do?”

               
Snorting,
Jeremy says, “I will get it.”
 
I stand
there awkwardly, as Jeremy answers the door.
 
“Hello Eric,” Jeremy articulates, snapping a little bit on his name.
 
“Come in.”

               
“Is
Isabelle ready?” Eric asks.

               
As
I hear, “Let’s have a chat first,” I walk around the corner.

               
“No
chat Jeremy,” I growl with a smile.
 
“Leave him alone.”
           

               
Eric
returns my smile.
 
“You look wonderful.”

               
“Thanks,”
I bashfully reply.
 
“You look your usual handsome
self.”
 
I see Jeremy rolls his eyes and I
want to punch him.
 
“Jeremy, stop it.”

               
“
Wwwhhhhattt
?”
He retorts.
 
“I am not doing anything…..yet.”
 
He turns his attention to Eric.
 
“You treat her well or you will have three
scary guys looking for you.”

               
Obviously,
not bothered by the comment, Eric says, “I figured as much.
 
I didn’t expect any less from you, so she is
safe.”

               
“He
is a little over protective,” I mutter, grabbing my new jacket.
 
I don’t think I will wear the old one ever again.
 
“Where are we going anyway?”

               
“I
will let you know when we get inside the car,” Eric answers with a smirk.

               
Jeremy
takes my jacket and helps me put it on.
 
“Thanks,” I whisper.
 
“Okay I am
all set.”

               
“Do
you have your credit card and ID?” Jeremy asks.

               
“Yes,
geez, I am fine.
 
I won’t be gone that
long.
 
It is a school night.”

               
He
crosses his arms.
 
“I just want you
safe.
 
I love
you,
I am sworn to protect you.”

               
“Like
my knight?” I giggle.

               
Nodding,
he replies, “Yes, because I am your knight.
 
Since day one, remember?”

               
“Of
course, I remember, and I love you for that, but we have to go.”

               
“What
are you going to be doing tonight?” Eric inquires to Jeremy.

               
Stretching his arms up, “I am going for a ten mile run.”

               
“Wow,
that is a lot of running,” Eric remarks.

               
“It
clears my head, and I need that today.”

               
I
open my mouth to ask why, but then stop.
 
“Okay,
have fun
,” I finally say.
 
I look at Eric, “Okay, let’s go.”

               
He
opens the door and we walk out.
 
I wave
at Jeremy and he returns the gesture.
 
When we get in Eric’s car, I fidget with my coat.
 
“Are you okay?” Eric asks.

               
“Yeah,”
I answer.
 
“What are we going to do?”

               
“We
are going to go walk around the old historic mill house area in the country.”

               
Smiling,
I say, “I have always wanted to go there!
 
They have the cutest little shops and restaurants.
 
Plus, the old buildings, it sounds like so
much fun!”

               
“I
thought you would like it, and it’s different,” Eric replies.

               
“It
is,” I happily sigh.
 
It is a bit of a
drive, so we talk the whole way.
 
We talk
about music and movies.
 
I tell him about
the horrible scary movie that Jeremy made me watch, and then other movies we’ve
seen, too.

               
When
we get to the little historic area, we park at one end.
 
“This way, we can walk down one side, come
back up the other,” Eric states.

               
“Sounds
good to me,” I reply.
 

               
We
get out and start to walk.
 
“So, you have
never been here before?”

               
I
shake my head.
 
“No, my mom never took me
anywhere, and this is too far away for me to come on my own.”

               
“I
don’t mean for this to sound bad, but I am sorry about your mom.
 
It has to be hard.”

               
“It
is,” I mutter.
 
“I think about her a
lot.
 
I have had no contact with her, but
I think that’s a good thing.”

               
Eric
laughs.
 
“You can borrow my family
whenever you want.
 
They are absolutely crazy,
but good people.”

               
“I
will keep that in mind,” I giggle.
 
“I
have Jeremy now and he is probably about ten times crazier than your family.”

               
“You
are really close to him aren’t you?”

               
Nodding,
I reply, “Yeah, I don’t know what I would do without him, and I don’t mean just
financially.
 
He takes care of me, in
every avenue.
 
I would be at home stuck
in the hell of my mother if it wasn’t for him.
 
He is everything.”
 
As I say that,
I stutter, “I mean…he isn’t EVERYTHING, but he is a huge part of my little
world.”

               
“That’s
a good thing that you have him,” Eric states.
 
“So, you love him, huh?”

               
“Yeah,
I do,” I state.
 
“He is my best friend.”
 
Eric nods and we walk.
 
We go through one of the first historic
buildings.
 
I have to stop and read each
plaque because that is the way I am.
 
Eric just keeps laughing at me.
 
I
finally stick out my tongue at him, and playfully shove him.
 
He comes back, picks me up and spins me in
the air.
 
I giggle and yell at him to put
me down.
 
We laugh and walk through the
rest of the building.

               
The
next place we go is a little shop.
 
It
has a ton of funny knick knacks in it.
 
There are a lot of signs that make us burst out laughing.
 
I take pictures of a few of them and send
them to Jeremy and Cassandra.
 
Jeremy
doesn’t respond, but Cassandra asks where I am.
 
I walk away from Eric a little and send her a response.
 
She immediately tells me I need to call her
later.

               
We
spend a lot of time walking around and talking.
 
I am having a good time, but I just feel like there is something
missing.
 
Something isn’t right and I
can’t place what it is.
 
It is nothing
bad, just….it’s doesn’t feel like it supposed to.
 
What am I doing wrong?
 

Eric takes me to this old
fashioned restaurant.
 
People are
actually walking around in period clothing.
 
We laugh some more.
 
Dinner is
really nice.
 
We talk.
 
Eric makes me giggle a lot.

When we are walking back to
the car later, Eric looks at me.
 
“So,
did you have fun?”

“Yeah,” I reply.

“We have a ways to go
before we get to the car, and we have talked all night, but I still don’t know
much about what makes you tick,” Eric says.